News of Spandex strengthening its Board to drive growth has me wondering how many large-format print companies have done something similar. When things started getting tough and print firms actively started to diversify and reposition their businesses there were rumblings of  ‘business tsars’ being brought in to help existing management teams with their new strategies. Did you go this route – and was it successful?

I’ve received information from a few manufacturers and suppliers in the wide-format space that they will either not exhibit at Sign and Digital UK or at Fespa Digital this year because they are focussing on Drupa instead. As wide-format print specialists I’d be interested in whether you will attend that giant of a show as well as one of the other more specialised events or instead?

With Onlineprinters having seen revenues jump 30% in 2011, I must surely ask, are you leveraging the power of Web-to-print yet, and if so, for which type of products and market sectors is it proving most successful? Is it working for you beyond the usual template-based print offerings, such as posters and basic POP/POS? I’d love to talk to you about your experiences and future plans to harness the system more creatively to build revenue and margin.

Well done to Agfa Graphics for winning the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Manufacturing Excellence (MX) Award for Sustainable Manufacturing – and by doing so raising the profile of sustainable manufacturing not just within the graphic arts sector but beyond. In the soon-to-be-published Jan/Feb issue of Image Reports Magazine there’s an ‘Investment Q+A’ that asks print companies about what impacts upon buying their buying decisions – have a look to see what they say about sustainability…

What do you consider to have been the most ‘innovative’ piece of kit introduced into the wide-format space over the last year? With the EDP Awards just around the corner, and having only announced the Image Reports Angel Awards at the end of 2011, I’d be interested in seeing what you would choose to honour.

Pay-as-you-go machine service and support to rival top end warranties – great idea, but the question has to be: will Tech8 manage to pull it off? Hopefully so given the amount of unrest in the market over the cost of some warranties and what they cover, let alone the never-ending stream of complaints regarding response times etc. What are your feelings on the subject of using pay-as-you-go servicing instead of taking out a warranty?

A cloud doesn’t always signify rain! Indeed, a little ray of sunshine is more likely to be associated with the new Optimus Cloud system for integrated online trading. Now I’m not in any way advocating that you stop talking to your customers, but if you’re looking for a hands-off, hassle-free way of dealing with some of them, this could be the kind of development you’ve been waiting for. I daresay we’ll see more of products of this ilk as the year progresses. 

Yes, we’re going to see pre-show information coming through thick and fast (one hopes!) now that we’re into the New Year, what with Fespa Digital just a few weeks away and Sign and Digital UK and Drupa close on its heels. But with three trade shows in close succession, which will you be attending? And how much weight do you give to the various show seminar/education programmes now of offer? What entices you to one event over another?

It’s finally happened – Prism has leveraged the Fespa brand and renamed itself Fespa UK Association. Given that Prism was viewed by many as outmoded it desperately needed to connect with potential new members and this rebrand will certainly put it more firmly in the spotlight as it looks to increase its current membership of 100. The question now, is can it deliver what a new generation of would-be members want from a trade association?

At a time when so many SMEs in all areas of business are finding it crucial to save where they can, leveraging group buying power via the likes of SME Discounts is a valuable resource.  Now that it allows SMEs to make specific requests about a product or service, it might be worth adding the website to your list of favourites - www.smediscounts.com

To my mind, it can only be good that former Fespa directors Frazer Chesterman and Marcus Timson stirred things up with their announcement of EcoPrint next September. It has put the focus back on sustainability following a definite dimming of interest over the last year or so among those running print businesses. Fespa’s latest moves to spotlight the topic can only serve to promote an issue which needs to move up the agenda.

Are you finding the ability to borrow any better or worse than this time last year? It seems an apt time to ask given that the Forum of Private Business is again calling for the Government to hand private lenders tax breaks in tomorrow’s autumn statement and growth review, thus stimulating competition with leading banks and bringing down borrowing costs. Do you agree that this would help SMEs?

How many more will follow Swiss company Christinger Partner in going through the two-year process to gain PSO / ISO 12647-2 certification on a large-format device, the achievement of which shows that output from the digital printer is comparable to offset litho and is repeatable? Let me know if you’re up for it!

The Fespa Global Summit in Barcelona at the end of last week threw up some very interesting ways in which wide-format printers can ‘explore the wider opportunities’ afforded them by not just by new and evolving technologies but by implementing ‘visionary’ business strategies. At Image Reports I am constantly coming across printers who understand the need to embrace both and are proving successful at doing so. To my mind there are certainly more ‘strategic thinkers’ in the business than there were a few years ago, a reflection on the amount of companies run by professional managers rather than printers perhaps? 

So, Grapo has been bought by a team that promises to inject cash into the Czech company to increase its position in the European wide-format printer market. How many other relatively small manufacturers will follow a similar path as the sector begins to catch the eye of investors looking for growth markets when most around them seem to be shrinking?

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the new UV LED Curing Association. Over the last four years or so various LED-enabled UV wide-format printers have appeared and various issues - such as their environmental credentials, running costs, parts longevity, curing speed etc. - means we can expect to see more of them. But where else will the technology appear?

Are any of you involved in the PrintIt! initiative? If so, please get in touch as it’s a great programme but needs more commitment from the large-format sector. Speaking to the team there, they don’t know of any large-format print company yet involved? Are they missing something? 

Give an inch and you can run miles more. Well, at least that’s the gist of what HP has done by replacing its 60in Designjet L25500 with the new 61in Designjet L26500 latex printer. That one-inch difference in print width allows you to print so many more standard substrates, so perhaps suppliers do listen to their customers after all

Which trade shows are you attending next year and why? As plans hot up for Fespa Digital, Sign and Digital UK, and Drupa, it’s intriguing to see how much more they’ve become than platforms for suppliers to show off their wares. The various topical seminars and discussion programmes make them as much a reason for attending as checking out the latest technologies. But is that enough to get you visiting all three next spring? Let me know which are on your must attend list. 

Have you switched your company’s energy supplier lately – and if so, has it made much difference to your costs? Do you think you are treated fairly by your supplier? Let me know what most gets your goat when it comes to energy prices and consumption.

Badger your materials suppliers until they offer a recycling service similar to the Pyramid Recycling Initiative, which is seeing print companies save a fortune by diverting waste from landfill.

If the VIGC is right in its latest research into total area coverage rates for printing deep black, you could be saving yourself a fortune by using less ink. Given the potential impact of the VIGC’s findings I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject.

The speed, quality and flexibility of the newly announced HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press will put users in a position to go knocking on the doors of national and international brands and pitch for their business according to its maker. But we all know that kit capability is only part of the new business equation, as plenty have found out during the last couple of years, during which time UV flatbed technology has set many a company on a new path - but most often been their business acumen that has got them through the door at the end. A bad workman may blame his tools, but a good one doesn’t always have the best!

You will know from my various leaders and the ongoing inclusion of features and opinion pieces on sustainability in Image Reports that we consider the topic key to business development in the wide-format community where it is still largely ignored. So the launch of EcoPrint Europe Live makes me want to punch the air! Put it on your ‘must attend’ list of events for next year.

Are you, like McKenzie Clark, feeling the need to invest in new wide-format kit in anticipation of increased print volumes next year. And if so, will you be able to keep that kit running profitable once the likes of the Olympics and Golden Jubilee are done and dusted? I’d be interested to know what technical and strategic decisions are colouring your judgement

Have you bought a used large-format printer of late and, if so, is it living up to expectation? Do you think opting for used machinery can be a sensible option or is the need to be at the cutting edge of technology an overriding concern? I’d like to hear your thoughts and whether you think research into the used machine market would be useful to you.

Do you belong to any user groups – and if so, do you communicate regularly and find them worthwile? As HP’s Dscoop customer group comes to the UK via its expansion into the EMEA region, I was wondering how useful such networks are. In theory they sound great, and the numbers involved in Dscoop must indicate something about its validity as a peer-to-peer exchange platform. But there have been others which have fallen by the wayside – so what makes some work and others not? Let me know your point of view.

How long have we now been talking about the opportunities afforded by the varied applications presented by digital wide-format print? Well, it’s good to see companies taking the initiative and getting on with making money in the more niche sectors, such as one time bookbinder Hollingworth and Moss is doing with its new lovephotobooks.com venture. This year’s Widthwise Survey (download at www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/widthwise 2011) showed that, while many print companies have recognised the need to diversify and have expanded their services portfolio, a lot of that diversification on a company by company basis has been into other relatively developed print sectors – there are still a lot of still virtually untapped markets. If you don’t get in there and develop lucrative applications now, you can bet someone else will! 

Given that Fespa and Sign and Digital are fairly early in the new year and that Drupa will be upon us before we know it, will you be going to any of the overseas trade shows this autumn? If so, what are you expecting to see there that will make the trip worthwhile?

Does the Two Sides campaign have any resonance with you? The fact that here’s an organisation at least attempting the uphill struggle to convince the general public that print isn’t necessarily bad for the environment, deserves our backing I think. But of course the focus is on printed paper products used by the average consumer – which tends to exclude large-format printed output! So should the sector be doing more to get its own sustainability message across, and if so, how?

Hurrah, Widthwise 2011 has now been published as can be found on the homepage where it can be downloaded for free. This far-reaching report is based on the survey findings from over 220 large-format print businesses in the UK and Ireland. Based on the data supplied it provides an overall picture of the state of play in the sector, but also breaks down the statistics to provide a more in depth picture for companies in three turnover brackets: up to £500,000, up to £2m and £2m+. Go take a look and let me know what you think.

Have you turned your hand – or rather your large-format inkjet print kit – to label production? LabelExpo in Brussels at the end of this month will highlight how the versatility of large-format inkjet systems (as well as their smaller and label production specific counterparts) can be used to explore opportunities in this print sector. If you are already doing this and would be happy to talk to me about your experiences please get in touch.

Are QR codes on your mind? If you can stretch to a trip to the US Sekuworks VP of Security Programs Management will be giving a presentation on QR code validation linked to authentication technologies at IMI’s 8th Annual Security Printing Conference being held at the Hollywood Beach Marriott in Hollywood 16 – 18 November. Conference details can be found at www.imiconf.com 

Which shows do you plan to attend before the end of 2011 – and are they all print trade shows? Perhaps you feel it’s just as crucial, if not more so, to attend shows where you can find out more about the markets that can deliver you new revenue streams. Would it make sense to actually exhibit at such shows? You’d stand out alright if you did. Do you think that, as an industry, we need to do more to get our print wares in front of potential new clients?

From my editor’s desk it seems that a new tranche of investment in new kit is kicking in – more news is coming in of companies installing large-format printers and associated software and hardware. Is this a sign that you are seeing higher levels of business, or the need to ready yourself to enter more profitable niches?  

As cardboard engineering becomes a greater focus within wide-format print production, largely due to the higher margin possibilities, no doubt there will be more of you taking on short-run packaging work so let me know what you think about the launch of Print Innovations alongside Packaging Innovations. Is it something you will attend?

Is textile printing part of your large-format output offering yet? Is so let me know as I’d be interested in hearing how it’s turning out for you. If you’re still wondering whether this is the right move for your business, the upcoming August/September issue of Image Reports will be worth a look-see as it focuses on this very topic.

The increase in strategic alliances between suppliers in the print market has been marked over the last 12 months or so and I daresay we’ll see still more before the end of the year – with the economy the way it just makes sense. But is it helping or hindering you when it comes to sourcing kit and materials? Let me know your thoughts.

Stealing the question that Heather Small put to music so well, ‘what have you done today to make you feel proud?’ If the answer’s ‘not a lot’, start off the week by going online at www.justgiving.com/TheHollywoodMonsterLeg to donate to Macmillan Cancer fund and give a bit of industry support to Hollywood Monster’s Tim Andrews who will be busy limbering up for his upcoming marathon for the charity. And if you’re involved in any fundraisers, let me know.

Take not only yourself but your (would-be) customers to Germany this autumn and let them see for themselves just what can be achieved with digital inkjet printing. As more detail emerges about Viscom’s Customised Design Forum the more appealing it becomes. If it does what it promises on the tin, then this should be a useful marketing tool – highlighting just how much more design-centric potential there is for digital print.

Finishing kit it seems is high on everyone’s shopping list so suppliers will likely see an upsurge of interest if they introduced new, economically priced, efficient and versatile cutters etc. It will be interesting to see how the DYSS X7 goes down when demonstrations kick off at AD/CAD in Cheshire this September. Do you think this is exactly the type of kit the market is lacking, or do you have other finishing needs? If that’s the case, feel free to flag them up and we’ll see what we can do in terms of investigating the market…

How far up your management agenda are ‘green’ issues? It came as a bit of a shock to discover from the about-to-be-published Image Reports Widthwise 2011 survey data that only 18% of respondents (220+ UK and Ireland large-format print companies) have environmental accreditation. That is put in context when you consider that only 4% of respondents said most clients asked about accreditation, and 63% said customers never asked! But the point is, they will – and when they do, will you be ready?

What do you think of this new image-based Quality Perception Benchmarking Service? Given the debate and issues surrounding colour management and consistency across print jobs it is good to see action being taken to help resolve the various conflicts and problems that currently exist, but do you think this new method is the way forward. If you feel strongly one way or another, please get in touch.

From a print perspective the trade show calendar for 2012 is pretty busy, with Drupa and Fespa in the first half of the year competing for your attention. So while the launch of Cross Media 2012 may in concept be a good move, it will be interesting to see if it attracts enough support from this sector to make it a real contender from a would-be visitor standpoint. Got any thoughts?

We know competition spurs us on so initiatives like the Fespa Wrap Cup Masters Series can only be good for the industry. And of course they are great for the participating companies too – the winners anyway – providing an international stage on which to demonstrate their expertise. From a marketing point of view that kind of attention is gold dust, so there must be competition junkies out there. Are you one? What other promotional ploys do you use to impress your clients and industry watchers? If you’re doing something more unusual that blogging and sending out e-shots let me know.

The figures say it all - Fespa Digital and Fespa Fabric proved to be an enormous success and as a three-day visitor myself I can vouch for the vibrancy of the event for those of you who didn’t make it. While not wanting to rain on the parade, there were a couple of points I’d make. Firstly, despite the now well accepted notion that print companies need to diversify to remain strong and competitive I was hardly stunned by the breadth of  ‘niche’ applications being actually printed at the show. There are constraints of course, but it would have been good to see more printing onto unusual substrates, especially with the flatbeds. Secondly, with all the focus on direct to textile printing, wouldn’t it be good to see more emphasis placed on how this sits within the graphic arts market as part of Fespa Fabric, where the focus is squarely on apparel printing? Just a couple of thoughts – let me know what you think.

Despite the volcanic ash cloud Fespa Digital proved a roaring success this week with visitor numbers looking impressive despite disrupted travel plans caused by the closure of Hamburg airport on Wednesday morning which left many international would-be attendees stuck at home – a particular shame given the quality of the show and the vibrancy of the kit and applications on show. Over the coming issues we’ll be looking in more detail at some of those offerings but if there’s anything in particular that you would like to know more about please drop me a line.

Will you be attending Fespa Digital in Hamburg next week. If so, I’d be interested in hearing your reasons for attending. Similarly, if you are a professional print provider in the wide-format space and intend to visit or exhibit at exhibitions outside the traditional print space please get in touch.

It’s interesting to see that Pixartprinting is winning new large-format banner work off the back of its offset print promotional campaign – but of course it’s largely down to the ‘special offers’ and attractive pricing that catches the attention of those seeking to buy print on that low-cost premise. There are plenty of businesses for whom building volume and capturing new client details is the focus, and if this is your aim then there’s something to be learned for what this major online player is doing.

Training has always been an issue in the print sector - the cost coupled with time issues have always been problematic. And where there’s been training money to be spent, it’s often been at the production end of the process. But quality salespeople are crucial to a business and finding them is a nightmare. Those of you trying to train up sales staff in-house understand the difficulties – which is why the BPIF has launched an online, 24/7, virtual classroom. What are your thoughts on the move, and do you think we could benefit from more remote training?

What a baptism of fire Neil Fenton will receive at Fespa Digital later this month! As a newcomer to the print sector he will certainly be immersed in all the technological and strategic developments taking place in this vibrant sector where Frazer Chesterman and Marcus Timpson proved so knowledgeable and proactive. If Fespa is to retain the momentum they were hugely responsible for building up he’s got a lot to learn very quickly.

Well Fespa Digital is just around the corner so there are plenty of new product announcements beginning to come through ahead of the doors opening on 24 May. Faster, more flexible and cost and energy efficient machines are to be expected, but if you had one development you would like to see this year what would it be?

The tendering process is a headache but, when you win jobs on the scale of the MediaCityUK graphics project just clinched by BAF Graphics, it must all seem worth it. Even so, there must be parts of the process that just seem extraneous. Let me know what bug bears you have when it comes to tendering and your suggestions for streamlining the process.

How substantial will your investment be in finishing this year? Will it be directly in proportion to what you hope to make from extending your finishing capabilities? What I’m trying to get at is, will it make you money, or is it just that this is a service you now have to provide in-house to remain competitive? Let me know your thoughts. 

As Sign and Digital UK 2011 prepares to close its doors many of the exhibitors are saying that they’ve seen a very satisfactory level of genuine interest and leads from visitors investigating products that will help them streamline and adapt their business. It’s yet to be seen whether that interest will translate into hard sales but the mood of the show was buoyant. 

It’s interesting to see that Aldersons is focussing on the expansion of its creative team within the POS division to provide a wider gamut of design-based services – which seems to make clear sense given profit making potential at this end of the job. Shame then that so many printers seem to feel they cannot charge properly for pre-print services! What’s the problem? Let me know your thoughts on the topic.

NextGen Research forecasts that 3D printing will grow to be a £500m market by 2013 so you can expect manufacturers and suppliers to be edging into the market – like Antalis McNaughton with its new iPrint Pure 3D polypropylene film that when printed displays a full 3D image and can be printed with various technologies. No doubt more will follow, opening yet more diversification routes. If you have specific issues that you would like to see discussed in relation to 3D inkjet print, please get in touch.

How much money have you lost in the last year due to software issues? The VIGC (Flemish Innovation Center for Graphic Communication) has just published the findings of its testing of various PDF viewing tools, only to find what you probably already know – that many of them are not really suited to professional prepress use. So who in your organisation is tasked with sourcing and checking out that the products you buy are workable in your environment – yourself, pre-press/IT specialists, designers? I’d be interested to know how you handle software investment.

We talk so much about the technical advances and applications potential of new kit and consumables that perhaps we sometimes overlook the fact that it takes investment in areas other than production to grow business. Liverpool-based digital printer c3imaging has just reminded us, flagging up the fact that its commissioning of next day delivery services from APC Overnight has been key to helping it win major new contracts. Let me know if you’ve made strategic changes that have significantly improved you chances of success.

There’s much talk about the opportunities afforded those in wide-format inkjet printing by ‘industrial’ applications. But, of course, having the technical capability is only part of the equation – finding the right markets, and then getting your foot in the door, are where you can so easily become unstuck. It’s easy top see why the printer manufacturers want to expand into these ‘new’ industrial sectors, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a workable diversification route for those of you in the display print market. That said, some companies are making a go of it – let me know if you are one of them – or whether you have tried and failed to make money from your investigations into ‘industrial’ print.

How do you measure the benefits and thus justify expenditure on software? It’s largely agreed that this is where development is most needed in wide-format print production – and there are plenty of manufacturers and integrators on the case. But how can you quantify the value of what you’re buying – and does that put you off purchasing solutions that, in your gut, you know would help your business? I’d be interested in hearing how you play it.

I can imagine that the phones at the new Contour Business Finance arm of Richmond Capital Partners will be red hot. Talk about a timely entrant into the finance arena – just when all the trade shows are about to kick off and have us all salivating over new machines. But where to get the finance……. We know the banks are still not really worth talking to, but how are equipment manufacturers faring in the financial support they’re offering on new purchases? What would be your first port of call on the finance front? Let me know if you’ve found a good avenue to funding!

Have you completed the Image Reports’ Widthwise 2011 survey yet? If not, I urge you please do so (www.surveymonkey.com/s/widthwise2011). This is the fourth annual poll of the UK and Ireland’s wide-format print community and the data gathered will be analysed and presented in a free Widthwise Report this summer. In the 2010 poll the overwhelming message was that this sector would be investing in kit and solutions specifically to take companies into new and more profitable niches. If you have done that please get in touch.

What are your thoughts on franchising? With Fastsigns offering a nice little incentive package to get more independent sign businesses joining the network you can’t help but wonder if other chains will do likewise. And if they do, would it tempt you? There’s been plenty of talk about merger and partnership, but what about this as an avenue to growth? Do you see any value in losing your independence to get the support of a larger operation?

How important is charitable service to the face of your business? At one time, giving services free of charge or raising cash for local charities was part of strategic business planning - seen as a marketing tool as well as a moral obligation. Has that changed? Is it still part of your ethos or has the economic climate put pay to that? I’d like to have your feedback either way – not to name and shame but to get a feel for how such community minded actions now play out in the print sector.

What are your real diehard colour management issues in terms of digital large-format print production? This is a topic that will be covered in some depth in the soon to be published March issue of Image Reports and will continue to be an area of special focus over the coming months so please get in touch to let us know what causes you the biggest headaches.

Is it getting easier to borrow from banks? Have you tried recently? What’s your take on recent figures from banks that lending applications are down and running at an 80% acceptance rate - and will the FPB’s call to SMEs to test the banks by applying for finance prompt you to do so? Let me know your thoughts on what you think needs to be done to help print companies secure funding. 

Exhibitors at the upcoming Sign and Digital UK show in April have started confirming what products they will be demonstrating at the event, proving that yet again it will serve as a good all-round overview of the latest developments and technologies. But what else do you expect from a trade exhibition these days? Let me know so that I can consider your views when writing the Show Preview which will appear in Image Reports magazine just before the show opens.

According to the new Fespa Economic Survey, things are looking up, with 86% of respondents expecting their businesses to grow in 2011, and with more than half of those surveyed forecasting growth to exceed 10%. And no doubt digital wide-format has a large part to play in those forecasts, which is why the sector continues to attract newcomers. New applications are emerging at a staggering rate so, if you can find a way out of the commodity end of the market, there should be good pickings for all for some time to come. It is to highlight some of those more novel applications that Image Reports has teamed up with Northprint to deliver the first Wide-Format Applications Showcase. Should printers be doing something similar at shows relevant to their customers? Let me know your thoughts.

Are you noticing an increase in the amount of biodegradable graphics you are being asked to produce? Via various Round Table discussions and through a recent straw poll of printers asked about the impact of ‘green’ on incoming quotes and orders, it appears there is a widening gap between those customers looking to improve their sustainability credentials by sourcing more environmentally-sound graphics and those businesses that continue to eschew such considerations. If you would like to get more involved in the debate on sustainability in print please get in touch. You can contact me on 01932 707173 or email lesley.simpson@imagereportsmag.co.uk 

Why are you investing in new kit in 2011 – for extra speed, new capacity, diversification capabilities? This is just one of the questions being asked of all players in the digital large-format market as part of the Image Reports annual Widthwise survey, the results of which will be published in the summer to provide you with an analysis of the UK and Ireland markets. The more printers responding to the poll the more representative the subsequent report will be so please take part at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/widthwise2011 

The Associates in Print and Paper Technology (APPT) is calling for applicants for a new annual bursary to be awarded to a deserving candidate within print or paper training or an apprenticeship. This is an admirable move, but perhaps we should spend more money (and time) in actually enticing youngsters into print in the first place. And take a serious look at what we mean by that. For instance, does the training (and training incentives and awards we offer) actually focus on where the skills shortages lie – which is more often in management than production. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the issue.

The fourth annual Image Reports’ Widthwise survey of the UK and Ireland’s digital wide-format print community is now underway and we’re asking all involved in the sector to please get involved so that we can deliver a really useful market analysis when the Widthwise 2011 Report is published in the summer. Participation is anonymous and all those taking part will have free access to what has become recognised as the most in-depth view of the local wide-format market. Please help us help you by completing the questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/widthwise2011 

It’s interesting to see that creative designer Shell Thomas is using recycled honeycomb substrate Dufaylite for her new toy - Reggie the Eco Rocker. OK, so it’s not a printed product – but something like it could be. At the launch of a new flatbed printer last year, a packaging printer yet to move into digital wide-format but investigating opportunities, came to a realization as he was watching the machine in action, that he could start printing flat-packed doll’s houses using VDP to add the child’s name etc., and sell them at significant margin on the high street if only he had the means of getting the whole thing off the ground. Perhaps it’s time for those of you looking for new markets to start thinking about toy markets well ahead of next Christmas…

Does it seem that everyone wants a piece of you, what with calls for you to get more involved in environmental standards development, school liaison etc? You may be quick to dismiss such unpaid efforts, but can printers really afford to do that nowadays? Does the future of the industry rely on individual companies being more proactive for the good of the whole? I’d be interested to hear your take on the subject.

As 2010 draws to a close and thoughts turn to business development in 2011 how do you figure you will fund investment? According to market analyst Plimsoll the banks are right not to lend to many companies in the print industry because of ultra low profit margins. But that’s looking across the whole of the print sector and, thankfully, large-format is doing rather better than other parts of the industry. But does that argument hold any water when it comes to finding funding specifically for this area of business? 

Congratulations to Pyramid Visuals the printing of the World Record Breaking banner for Greenpeace. Director Justin Murray is happy to admit that the job made little margin – but what a marketing coup! It’s obvious that print companies are becoming increasingly proactive in singling out promotional opportunities; something the sector has traditionally been very poor at. Let me know if 2011 is likely to see you take a more savvy approach to marketing your business.

How much litho and screen work do you expect to convert to digital inkjet output in the coming months? The Simpson Group has obviously seen the sense in migrating a significant proportion of the work previously undertaken on conventional print kit to its new HP Scitex FB7500 flatbed printer. Do you have similar intentions? If so, I’d be interested in hearing from you.

See what happens when you manage to convey what wide-format inkjet can do to a wider audience! Landor has been inundated with calls since it supplied The Gadget Show with a digitally printed Phototex mural for a shoot-out with conventional wallpapers. “People just didn’t know what could be achieved, and now they do the response has been amazing,” said Landor MD Derric Landor. If you have any clever or quirky methods of better educating the wider audience about what can be achieved with large-format inkjet print please get in touch – the wider we can spread the message the stronger it is.

It’s interesting to see how the recent dedicated print applications show in Finland (hosted by Fespa member the Finnish Association of Screen and Special Printing) went down. There was no kit on show – the whole focus was on applications and what can be achieved in terms of printed products. Getting that message out to existing, not to mention new customers, can be a hit and miss affair as we know, but we can’t just expect them to come to ‘our’ shows, however applications-based they may be. We must get up and take our wares to ‘their’ events – the interiors shows, the architectural shows etc. If you plan to do so in 2011 please drop me a line and let me know.

It’s that time of the year when gongs are handed out to those who have excelled in terms of product development and innovation – the soon-to-be-published December issue of Image Reports will highlight the worthy recipients of its own annual Angel Awards – but how much onus do you put on these accolades when it comes to choosing new solutions? Let me know your thoughts...

How big an issue is workflow when it comes to making your wide-format operation as efficient as possible? At the trade shows this year there was an obvious focus on software development and on workflow solutions in particular, so are they beginning to make an impact on your business? What key problems do you still face and what would you like to see in terms of product development and job handling? Let me know so Image Reports can investigate the issue in depth.

It’s good news week for those of you undertaking signage work – according to Pira’s latest report, ‘The Future of Inkjet printing to 2015’, signage is set to dominate the rapidly growing inkjet market until 2015 at least. And what’s more, value growth is predicated to be way above volume growth. While diversification must be on the cards for many in the wide-format inkjet who have seen margins squeezed, it’s good to see that there’s still a valuable future in this core market. Are you finding this to be the case? 

Having just got back from the BAPC’s annual conference over the weekend I’m buoyed by the enthusiasm generated by the fabulous speakers, but that’s somewhat offset by the relatively poor attendance by printers. There were plenty of consultants, suppliers etc. but the people the programme was designed to help just didn’t turn out in any real numbers. The event didn’t cost much, was on a weekend, open to non-members, had a strong speaker panel… so what’s missing? What would attract you to a business management event? 

How accepting are you about your suppliers and manufacturers increasingly targeting the likes of the litho market to extend their revenue streams from sales of wide-format kit and consumables? Do you see this as going somewhat against the ‘partnership’ ethos so bandied about or do you just consider it a practical business strategy in a market reaching a certain stage of maturity? Let me know your thoughts.

When you think of the amount of ‘commercial’ print companies that used to put out large-format work to the trade and have subsequently brought it in-house it’s rather interesting to see how trade only print companies like Wirralco are looking to fill their smaller format digital and litho capacity with work from those that might now be concentrating their own in-house efforts on wide-format! If the shift towards digital wide-format has significantly changed the type of work you put out to the trade, please let me know. 

To what extent is it worth us looking to the US for information and inspiration? As product development news trickles out of 2010 SGIA Expo, now running in Las Vegas, I thought it timely to ask the question. We in the UK have often considered the United States a fairly useful barometer of trends but is that the case when it comes to wide-format print in particular? How closely do you monitor what happens over the pond and have you found it useful to your business to do so?

It’s all about being able to flex your kit to suit multiple applications and production scenarios these days - isn’t it? Mimaki has just increased the speed and versatility of its JFX range and, as was clear from the various trade shows earlier this year, other manufacturer realise the necessity to do likewise. The need for more versatile machines seems obvious, but is speed really still an issue in the wide-format sector? OK, for volume work that will always be a priority, but if the market indications are right – that the real growth potential is in small volume, more specialist work – are ever increasing printer speeds a core requirement, or are there more pressing technological requirements. I’d love to hear your point of view.

What are your thoughts on ‘one-stop’ shops for all your hardware and consumables needs? The acquisition of DCP Solutions by CWE Solutions turns the latter into one of the UK’s largest resellers with a broad product portfolio. No doubt there will be other takeovers in the wings, leading to a supply chain of fewer but more wider product encompassing companies. Is this helpful to you as a printer, or do you think it will have a negative impact?

It’s always heartening to see printers getting a good ROI as Colouration has with its two new Océ Arizona 550 GT flatbeds, thanks not only to the productivity gains they have brought the company, but the opportunity to go after new types of work. But lets not undervalue the importance of another important development at Colouration – its ability to provide a visual demonstration service that lets would-be clients see life-like mock-ups of jobs before the order is even placed. This kind of service must be a valuable tool in getting people on-board, especially with new customers/new sectors where the demand is for 3D printed products. This growth sector comes under the spotlight in the upcoming October issue of Image Reports so keep you eye open for it and let me know your thoughts.

Colour management has always been an issue in print so it’s good to see developments coming through that can help a greater swath of businesses effect better colour accuracy. But are there still gaping holes in the solutions currently available? Let me know

Give us more initiatives like the new online applications, materials and substrates portal from Gerber, which should prove a really valuable service to users of its wide-format print kit. Here’s a company really listening to its customers and helping them maximise their return on investment. So many printers spend an incredible amount of time, money and energy in testing materials that - as they point out on a regular basis – there must be a great deal of overlap in all their results. No company can test every material for every one of its printers on an ongoing basis, but what Gerber is doing is certainly a step in the right direction. What do you think? 

You know how it is - stand still and the grass grows under your feet - which is why we've been constantly reviewing this website since it was re-launched with a new look at the beginning of the year. This month we've added a special 'online only' features section that includes material you won't find in the printed version of Image Reports Magazine. We've also added a 'Grab a Gizmo' section to bring your attention to those little odds and ends that can make your working day a little bit more interesting/productive/fun! And we've added more 'comment buttons' to various articles so we can learn more about what you think on the issues. Plus, of course, you can now download Image Reports' new Widthwise Report, which delivers a 'Roadmap to the Future' for digital wide-format print in the UK.

Like you, we are always striving to provide added-value in what we deliver. And that includes providing you with the information you most want to receive in the format that most suits you - be it via the printed magazine and/or the digital version, email newsletters or through the website. Help us to do that by letting us know what you think of this website. What do you consider the site's most/least useful features. Are there ways in which you would like to see it evolve - let me know your thoughts.

Lesley Simpson - Editor

Lesley has been writing on the changing face of the UK commercial printing industry for over 20 years. Having graduated from London University to 'pasting-up' advertisements for Yellow Advertiser Group magazines and spending long hours at typesetters and printers proofing galleys and passing pages, Lesley migrated to writing about the print sector, starting out in the 1980s as a novice reporter on the long gone New in Printing magazine before becoming a news hack then news/features editor of PrintWeek (then LithoWeek!) where she also had the dubious pleasure of editing one of the first trade show 'dailies'. For the last seven years she has edited SJP title OneStop, a former sister publication to Image Reports where she now becomes Editor.